Cheap copper wire being used by Ford?
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Joined: Jul 2013
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Cheap copper wire being used by Ford?
Well let me start by saying last winter I had a battery check light that wouldn’t go away in spite of the batteries being good. Ultimately the problem was corrosion (green powder) on a copper wire in the harness on the pax side of the engine. The wire disintegrated from within and the plastic insulation showed no signs of a problem. When I understood what had happened, I said wow, are we in for more of these gremlins in the future.
today I saw this video and it reminded me of this copper wire corrosion problem. I’m sure you will find it interesting....take note of the state of the copper in the wires in question.
https://youtu.be/Ae8BgaQjRV0
today I saw this video and it reminded me of this copper wire corrosion problem. I’m sure you will find it interesting....take note of the state of the copper in the wires in question.
https://youtu.be/Ae8BgaQjRV0
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,937
Likes: 1,221
From: Southern Crescent
Agreed. Manufacturing defect of the wire harness. Even if the copper were inferior in some way (and I suspect not) the insulation should have remained intact. it was nicked at the factory. (In reference to the video. YMMV)
Cross-Country
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 91
Likes: 50
From: Southern California
I agree with BSHORT. I was VP of Engineering for a major connector manufacturer before I retired 5 years ago. This type of corrosion comes from moisture inside the harness. It can get there anywhere in the harness and travel to the lowest point which this is where it was located.
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I agree with BSHORT. I was VP of Engineering for a major connector manufacturer before I retired 5 years ago. This type of corrosion comes from moisture inside the harness. It can get there anywhere in the harness and travel to the lowest point which this is where it was located.
I was using "salt away" after each snow related salt spreading but.....last winter I had the internal wire corrosion on one of the battery related harnesses and had to take the truck 2 states away to get it warranty repaired. they had to do a harness by pass....apparently...there are a few known connectors that suffer green wire corrosion . it would probally be worth my time to spray these connectors down once a year vs having to dirve to different states to get warranty electrical work done. local ford was backed up 5 months on electrical gremilins and could not see me for a few months.
for $182 a gallon...this stuff looks like it might work on electrical connectors and exposed wires.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2019
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I think the cheapness of the wiring in this case is the copper wire is not protected from corrosion by tin or silver plating. I think this is fairly common in automotive wiring that I have seen.
Corrosion can travel a long distance from the source under the insulation. This can be noted in the video. The stripped ends of the OEM harness are dark in color, not shiny, indicating surface corrosion. The mechanic should have cleaned off the corrosion before crimping the splice. The stripped ends of the replacement pigtail are silver in color and shiny indicating either tin or silver plating.
Corrosion can travel a long distance from the source under the insulation. This can be noted in the video. The stripped ends of the OEM harness are dark in color, not shiny, indicating surface corrosion. The mechanic should have cleaned off the corrosion before crimping the splice. The stripped ends of the replacement pigtail are silver in color and shiny indicating either tin or silver plating.
Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 127
Likes: 37
But to each his own indeed.
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